Sorry for the wait! I realize that I owe you all an explanation, so here it is: My computer completely freeaked out. It sort of stopped working, and I had to delete everything I had. So I had to rewrite Jack Frost, even the chapters I hadn't uploaded yet. I have a few chapters in the works now, it's all a matter of editing. So I should be updating a bit more often now. Anyway, here is chapter 4 of Jack Frost!

I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, Jack Frost, or the seasons!

"Here we are!" Renka indicated dramatically, swinging his arms towards his house. "Welcome to the Fujioka house!"

Tamaki stared at the house he had seen too many times to count. It was made of maroon brick and was outfitted with a charcoal black roof, snow speckling the house, making it look extremely warm and friendly. The garden around it was filled with the twining of dead rose bushes, and the was covered with freshly fallen snow. Only the little cobble walkway was left uncovered, probably due to Haruhi's sweeping. There was a worn mailbox to Tamaki's left, with the faint inscribing of the Fujioka characters.

"It's nice," Tamaki said out of politeness. After all, Renka was being so generous as to offer up his home.

Renka smiled. "It's not as grand as the castle in the mountains," Renka pointed behind himself. "But it's plenty good enough for just the two of us. Well," he said, glancing at Tamaki. "The three of us."

Tamaki bowed slightly. "I greatly appreciate your hospitality, Renka."

Renka raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome," he said suspiciously, and walked up the pathway to the house. Tamaki closed the little iron fence door that surrounded the Fujioka house, and scurried after Renka, nearly slipping on the slight ice. Idiot, he scolded himself.

"Good evening Haruhi!" Renka all but squealed as he entered the house. All trace of suspicion had been swiped from his face, and he now wore an expression of pure glee. "How is my beautiful daughter on this fine night?"

"Dad," Tamaki heard Haruhi say from the small kitchen beyond the living room. His heart gave a little jump as he heard her speak.

The living room- much like the rest of the house- was small, but hospitable. There was a sitting area in front of the fire place, and since there wasn't a dining room, a small table with four wooden chairs around each edge sat on the far side. The kitchen lined the back wall, and was blocked from the living room by a low wall stacked with leather bound books and a few iron pots and pans. Tamaki knew the floor plan by heart, and knew where every single dust bunny lurked in the corners.

Haruhi came around the corner then. She was still in slacks, but had tied a stained pink apron around herself. Tamaki couldn't help but notice that the word 'Father' was written across the abdomen. He stifled a slight giggle.

Her eyes widened in shock. "What are you doing here?"

Tamaki smiled bashfully and pulled off his cap in respect. "Well-"

"He's staying with us for a while," Renka interrupted, depositing his feminine cloak on it's rack by the door. "Do you two know each other?" Renka asked, staring daggers at Tamaki.

"We only met tonight," Tamaki said quickly. He blushed harshly when he realized that he was too forward.

"He was drowning in snow." Haruhi said, wiping her hands on a dirty towel. "Only his arm was sticking out."

Renka laughed harshly, throwing his arm against the wall for support. "Yet another trapped beneath January Junction's snow." he breathed between laughs.

Tamaki looked down and silently cursed himself. He was being made a fool of! He was Jack Frost and he was seen trapped beneath snow!

"Don't worry about it," Haruhi said. Tamaki looked up and saw Haruhi's large brown eyes staring into his. "It's happened to everyone."

"Yes," Renka said, finally breathing. "The snow is beautiful, but it can be a pain."

Tamaki wondered if the spirits above could hear.

"Now," Renka directed Tamaki to the table. "Have a seat. You must be freezing!"

"Thank you," Tamaki murmured, lowering into one of the rickety wooden chairs. He glanced down at the table and saw various scorch marks and stains. He frowned inwardly at the condition of the table. He knew that the Fujioka's were, let's face it, not exactly retaining a great income. He knew that their taking him in would put them behind in payments, but he planned to find work as soon as possible, so it shouldn't be that much of a problem.

Haruhi and Renka chatted in a corner of the kitchen, playfully fighting over whether to add more salt or parsley to the pot of soup on the stove. Tamaki looked on with fascination, watching as these two humans communicated so easily. Sure, he had watched them plenty of times, but actually being in the same room, in the warmth with them, it was amazing.

Renka flitted out of the room, sending warning glares to the former spirit the entire time, leaving Haruhi and Tamaki alone. Haruhi removed the apron and shyly looked at Tamaki.

"So," she started, obviously embarrassed. "Where did my dad find you?"

"Just around the corner," Tamaki answered. "I was looking for a place to stay, and the only inn was full."

"It's the busy season." Haruhi said, and turned down the fire, trying to busy herself. She had to be blind not to notice that her new companion was attractive. She shook her head to get his startling purple eyes out of her head.

Tamaki lingered on her sentence. He wasn't aware that humans had a busy season too.

"Busy season?" he asked, unable to stifle his curiosity.

"Yeah," Haruhi regarded him slowly, taking care not to let her eyes linger for too long. She settled for a lock of gorgeous blond hair. "A lot of families visit around Christmas."

Tamaki knew better than to ask about Haruhi's family. He knew that her mother had died many years ago, and that she had virtually no family.

"Haruhi!" Renka chirped, twirling into the kitchen. He had changed out of his low dress and was now in much more manly attire. Like Haruhi, he was wearing trousers, accompanied with a shirt that had the character, 'father' free stitched across the chest. His scarlet hair was tied back in a ribbon, and his face was devoid of all makeup.

He twirled towards Haruhi, arms wide open, awaiting her embrace. Haruhi deftly ducked out of the way. Renka crashed to the floor.

And Tamaki burst out laughing.

Renka and Haruhi looked at their guest curiously. He had doubled over, and clear laughs burst through his diaphragm. Renka and Haruhi caught his infectious laughter, and both began laughing as if nothing in the world could be funnier.

At that moment, all three were truly happy.

Haruhi wiped her eyes and controlled her breathing, surprised that she had laughed so hard. Things like her dad crashing to the ground happened every day in her home, but she had never laughed as hard as she did just now.

She retrieved three bowls from the cupboard all the way to the right of the kitchen, along with three mugs. A pot of tea had been brewing beside the soup, and she turned down the fire as the kettle began to scream. She expertly poured three cups of tea, and placed them on the table, one beside the recovering Tamaki. His face was beat red, and he was still chuckling slightly. Tiny beads had formed at the corners of his eyes. As if in amazement, Tamaki wiped the tears from his eyes and stared at his wet hands. Haruhi raised an eyebrow, but kept quiet as she served the soup.

Renka settle in his chair, with Haruhi on his left, and Tamaki on his right. He raised his steaming mug in a type of toast. "May Haruhi's soup be the best yet! And curse those Lobelia Queens!" he took a sip, and squeezed his lips together from the heat.

"Dad!" Haruhi scolded. "You shouldn't speak about people that way."

Renka shrugged his shoulders and dipped his spoon into his bowl.

"Who are the Lobelia Queens?" Tamaki asked, watching his soup steam in interest.

Renka nearly choked. "You don't know?" He looked at Tamaki as if he was a creature from a faraway planet.

Tamaki shook his head.

"The Lobelia Queens," Renka began, lowering his voice and becoming very serious. "There are three of them. They are all sisters. The oldest, Benibara, The Lady of the Red Rose. Chizuru, The Lady of the Lily. And the youngest, Hinako, The Lady of the Daisy. They hail from the country of Zuka, to the west."

"They sound nice." Tamaki said, admiring the flower names.

Renka's gaze darkened, making Tamaki shrink into his chair. "They are the farthest thing from nice. Before they came, this country was prosperous and thriving. We had a great economy, and no one went hungry. Then, when Zuka invaded out country, the Lobelia Queens took hold of January Junction. They live in the castle in the mountains."

Tamaki could almost hear the ominous drums pounding.

"Since then, out economy has gone under. Benibara, being the eldest, is pretty much the head honcho up there. She now owns all of the timber, brick, and the gold."

Tamaki dropped his spoon just as he was about to drink his soup. "There's no gold? Or timber and brick?"

Renka shook his head sadly. "They own it all."

"But I must build a house!" he said, exasperated.

"It's just not possible." Haruhi said, dabbing her face with a napkin.

"But… I need it." He said pitifully. "A horse, a bag of gold, a house…" he trailed off. He didn't want to mention a wife. Not with the cross-dressing duo around him.

"The Lobelia Queens own all of the horses." Renka said sadly, watching Tamaki's dejected expression. "They're the rulers of Zuka."

"But the Zuka's couldn't stand their theatrics, so they dumped them on us." Haruhi said. "So they all left, leaving us to deal with their ways."

"They live alone on the mountain. You would think that they would reside alone, but the three queens have quite a following. The girls in the town call themselves, 'The Zuka Fanclub'".

"So even though they own everything, and ran down the economy, they still have loyal followers?" Tamaki asked, trying to figure it out. Humans were strange.

Renka and Haruhi nodded. There was silence after that, and Tamaki finally dipped his spoon in his soup and drank it.

A fine blush formed on his cheeks, and a smile lit up his face. His spoon dangled from his mouth, and his hands dropped to his sides.

"Uhm… Tamaki?" Haruhi asked. She and Renka stared.

Tamaki removed the spoon slowly, his blush still standing at attention. "It's…" he whispered, trying to find the words. "It's stupendous!"

Haruhi blushed like mad. "I didn't do anything special…"

"Isn't Haruhi's soup great?" Renka squealed, hugging his daughter close to him. "I look forward to it every day!"

Tamaki smiled and watched as Haruhi struggled to escape Renka's hold yet again. He finally felt, for the first time in his life, as if he was part of a family. He was warm, safe, and human.

He could ask for nothing more.

There you have it! Chapter 4 is done! Sorry if it was a bit short.

Now, since I kept you all waiting for so long, here's a short excerpt from chapter 5:

"Is that a kotatsu?"

Ok, so it's not really an excerpt, but it's something to look forward too! Tamaki will finally experience a kotatsu as a human. *squee* I'm so excited.

Until next time, Avoir mes amies!